Beyond His Ken
by VisnaValyriaHunt
Summary: Hidan growled and glared indignantly at the girl "You just bit me you brat." "Then don't call me a child." Kagome retorted. The door slammed open, both eyes slanting towards the newest occupant. "She is awake." Itachi intoned. [Drabble Series] [ON HOLD]
1. Legends, Tales and Myths Oh My!

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Fingers tipped in black skimmed along the edges of each scroll, the dull thud of his sandals against the wooden floor seemed to echo. He had always found comfort in the heady scent of parchment and drying ink, it brought him back to memories he had long thought lost. Since childhood, he had sought out the comfort that came from books and scrolls, no matter how rough life had become. Legends of the oldest times, he learned plenty from what had been found in Konoha, but since joining the Akatsuki he had discovered so many more topics.

It was because of his younger brother he ended up here now, buried away, hidden from the world of ninja. His steps came to a sudden halt, eyes slanted down to the book in his hand. The spine rested in his palm, his eyes scanned over mentioned legend. "The History of the Shikon No Tama" each word fell off his tongue easily, the emotionless intone not seeming to make anyone else flinch, most of them were use it. Nimble fingers pressed the book closed, setting it aside to free up his hands, he wanted to know more about this, the basics given in the book were minimal, unsatisfactory. Plucking scroll after scroll from the shelves, he inspected each one, skimming words to ensure that they were about the Shikon.

Book forgotten, Itachi Uchiha silently left the collection of books, nodding silently to Hidan who had allowed him access to the wealth of knowledge. Wandering through the halls to his own solitary chamber, he carefully aligned the scrolls on his dresser. Selecting the first, he found a comfortable spot in the window sill, prying loose the bindings. In the lazy heat of a quiet summer afternoon, the elder of the Uchiha brothers sought his comfort in the knowledge the scroll held.


	2. Legends Lost

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 _The jewel of four souls, ancient and powerful, can grant any wish the user may have. As any other stone of its kind, there was always bound to be a catch, no one ever got quite what they wished for. Created from the souls of a powerful priestess and three of her greatest demonic enemies, the jewel has acted like a prison, a crystallized moment capturing the war that had raged all those years ago. A tipping point in the lives of the Yokai, and in their rule over the lands._

 _The jewel spent much time in both a state of purity and a state of tainted grief, passing hands and guardianship over the long years of its existence. Most notable were the two priestesses who single handedly guarded the Jewel. The first, a strong priestess who was the guardian of a village known as Edo. With little mercy for the demons who sought to take the jewel from her, she has gone down as a ruthless guardian._

 _Alas, her heart fell captive to the whims and whispers of a half demon, who claimed to want to become human, a devious plot turned lovers against one another, and in the end it cost the priestess her life. The priestesses younger sister, and her only family, burned the Jewel with the woman's body, sealing the power away with her soul for fifty years._

 _Reference 'The legend of the betrayed lovers'_

 _In those fifty years, legend of the jewel was passed down through the villages, all of these tales were passed around orally, usually a tale told to the children, cautioning against trusting demonic beings. Due to that, no written tale will ever hold the true legends that were passed down, however the tale is still told to this day, and many variations have been written and sealed within families who descend from those who once lived in Edo._

 _Another priestess was acclaimed for defending the jewel, often it is claimed that she made the ultimate sacrifice to rid the world of the jewel all together. Other claims state that she merely fused with the jewel, and her own line of descendents would have heightened abilities as monks or priestesses due to her becoming the jewel. Both claims clearly list that the jewel is no longer part of this world._

' _The shattered jewel' is, by research, the most accurate tale of the shattering of the Shikon No Tama, the quest to put it back together, and the great war that brought forth the end of a long treacherous existence of the cursed jewel. There is little known about what happened after the war, most of the written works have proven to be guess work at best. However there is one theory that follows trails of the raven haired girl with the eyes that flash pink._

The scroll draped over his folded knees. A frown tugged at his lips and his gaze slanted to the long line of scrolls he had collected. 'The Shattered Jewel, abridged.' was the closest he had to the tale listed in this introductory scroll, judging by the handwriting, the scroll he currently held was meant to intrigue the reader into doing further research, someone had not wanted the tale to be lost to time.

Slowly, he folded the scroll, returning it bindings to their place and allowing his thoughtful gaze to register the rain sliding down the glass panes of his window. Standing up, her ran his fingers through the long hair that fell into his face, moving back over and exchanging the scrolls. He cared little for the history of the jewel, or how it was made. He wanted to know much more about the woman rumored to have last held the powerful stone in her hands. Carefully, he released the bindings of the next scroll, finding a comfortable spot on his bed this time, a deep breath, one last glance outside to the waning sunlight and Itachi returned to his reading.

Certainly there had to be something within the depth of the scroll that could lead him to his next target.


	3. Breaking the barrier

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Itachi was getting nowhere like this.

Ignoring Kisame, the ex-leaf nin wandered further into the cave, following what seemed to be the faintest shimmers of power. The last known location of the priestess he sought, had been in the depth of this very cave, where it was said she made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure the jewel would never become tainted.

He only got so far, before the pain coursed through his veins, once again becoming a distraction to what he was attempting to see. This time, he refused to leave, refused to not have his curiosity sated, gritting his teeth, Itachi took a breath and stood fast, not moving forward, but not backing off.

Suddenly, she was there, standing just out of reach, arms crossed. Her hair flowed around her, long and silky, her eyes shone with the brilliance only the ocean might compare. Even the faintest glimpse of the woman, and he remembered the reason behind finding her, the reason he had been so curious.

The power shattered, the pain stopped, allowing him to breathe, to take a hesitant step forward. The priestess had already taken a step back, glaring at him in an attempt to hide the confusion and shock that filtered through her gaze.

"The purest of intentions, may cause the barrier to break." he recited the passage easily, and the woman seemed to recognize the words.

"The more you believe in what you are fighting for, the purer your heart may be considered. Intentions are only as true as our hearts deepest desires." she scoffed "So you have the kits books." her focus shifted from him to Kisame, who stood tensed at the opening to the cave.

"What trouble he causes" she whispered, pulling her hair over one shoulder. "I guess my time of hiding has now come to an end."

"What is your name?" Itachi had never found her name, not one he believed anyway.

"Kagome Higurashi"


	4. Cell my soul

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He met little resistance.

She seemed content to simply follow him, unquestioning. She fought only when she sought to rest and eat, which happened little during their trek. No attempts to run, nor to fight them off. Something told him that she likely could do damage to both he and Kisame, no matter how many words Kisame spewed about being strong.

Their trek was made in decent time, she was fast, and kept up in the moments Itachi felt like they were falling behind schedule. They returned in a mere three days. Impressive considering Itachi had planned for it to take longer, during this time, he had explained that Kagome would be his responsibility, that he would take her to see Pein when he thought it relevant enough to do so.

Kisame seemed to have his own plans, as per usual, the moment their hideout came into view, Kisame was gone, with words to whisper to Pein in regards to their mission. Itachi had not considered the fool to have such little loyalty as to immediately out his prisoner, though Kagome herself seemed to have been expecting it. Still she did not fight, and Itachi wondered what the woman knew that he did not. He would be required to check the scrolls again. Had he missed a scroll that spoke of her abilities to see the future?

Pein wasted no time, sending her off to be locked up, the depth of the hideout would become her new home, at least until Itachi could sort out a way to convince Pein to release her. For now he was merely glad he had kept Kisame in the dark about who she was, he had taken the right precautions to keep her true powers to himself, to ensure the others would remain in the dark about her true purpose here.

At least for now.


	5. Edo

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"Uchiha?" The name was only whispered, Pein watched the onyx eyed ninja, one hand was splayed over the door, keeping it propped open.

"I am leaving." No emotions seemed to leak from the sentence, and Pein only wondered briefly what the other could be doing. Whatever it was, he had little use for the Uchiha at the moment.

"Alright. I know how to contact you should you be needed. Will you be taking Kisame?" The nin had seemed almost peeved at the fish since the girl had been taken and chained up.

"No."

"Very well."

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His steps were almost silent, the path he followed worn down. Rice fields stretched out, wooden huts reminiscent of a time long past even to his kind. The quiet was almost peaceful, broken only by the giggling screeches of children. Itachi came to a stop as his feet met compact dirt and stone. The pathway had three destinations, to his left, a shrine.

He slowly opened the scroll, reading over the description he studied the etchings, nodding once before glancing to the village again, if he took the stairs he would arrive in Edo. This he was certain of now. Which meant that if he followed the break in the tree's just ahead, he would find what he was searching for. Tucking the scroll away once again, he began his trek through the trees, the grass long dead from the travelling of villagers to and from the sacred locations.

The Goshinboku, the roots were massive, curving up and stretching out. Narrowing his gaze, he inspected the tree, taking note of the where the bark had been deprived of sunlight for fifty years, the small hole where the arrow had held the half demon at bay. He could feel her power here, very similar to the cave, though this was much more wild, hers had been refined, he assumed over time. Onyx eyes scanned the tree's searching for the next break he could travel down, this was harder to find, but find it he did. Following the pathway he silently considered everything that was beginning to line up.

The well was the last piece, the power that thrummed just beneath the ancient wood reminded him of the barrier he had broken. Crouching down, his fingers skimmed over the top of the wood, a frown marring his features for a brief moment.

Why had she followed so easily?

Why had she allowed herself to so readily be taken captive?

Questions like these needed to be answered, but his most recent trip to her cell had proven useless, she had refused to talk, though she had given him a clue, a clue that had lead him to this small village. A rustling in the leaves had his back tensing, spinning around he came face to face with a large round pair of red eyes.

"A cat." he deadpanned, staring at the cream colored feline who was gingerly sniffing the air. The cat pounced up, landing on his shoulder and letting out a low mewl.

Why did he need a cat?


	6. Seeking Assistance

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"Hidan." the cold voice made the religious man turn from his ministrations, the blood leaking from his palm making the ice prick scrunch his nose. Hidan raised a brow at the silence, crossing his arms and shifting his weight to one leg.

"What can I do for you Uchiha?" he was being polite, if only to find out what had the Uchiha in a tizzy.

Wordlessly, the ex heir thrusted a book towards him, Hidan picked the book from the nin's hand, inspecting in, surprised to find it to be one of his tomes. The Shattered Jewel.

"Have an interest in the Jewel of Four Souls?" he asked, eyes raising to watch the other ninja closely, he had been around Itachi long enough to know this was more than slight curiosity.

"I have the guardian in my possession. I need her protected. You are off active duty, I am not." the words were blunt and cold, but there was something akin to desperation heating the tone of the male's voice, and it was this that had Hidan curious.

"That's impossible, this legend spans back 200 odd years." he growled, eyes narrowed in on the Sharingan user.

"I can prove it." the words struck a cord in Hidan and he nodded twice.

"You prove it, and I will protect her with my life." he agreed, the idea that the guardian trusting him was something he yearned for. The never ending possibilities of that kind of power?

"Book" he held out his hand, Hidan offering the book out and Itachi skimming through the pages, turning it back around the Uchiha held it out, motioning towards a passage.

"The nekomata? With two tails and the diamond on its head? What of i-Oh!" The small cream furball was finally released from within his cloak, jumping up onto his shoulder and glaring at Hidan with annoyed red eyes.

"Kirara" Itachi murmured "Or so the girl in the dungeons called her. Protected by a pink berrier broken only by he of pure intentions. Known by the nekomata that protected the originator of the jewel itself."

Hidan remained quiet for a moment, inspecting the cat before re-reading the passage he had before him. Finally he took a breath.

"The book says the feline-"

"-remained in Edo. Yes. I followed the directions given throughout the scrolls and confirmed its location using descriptions of the shring, village, the sacred tree and the ancient well. It's her. Hidan."

"Then I guess I am in."


	7. A Visit

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Impassive eyes stared at the proud woman, how she kept this gait in her state he questioned, however he kept silent. Cerulean eyes were glaring defiantly at him, the dark circles under them showing her difficulties sleeping, her cheeks were shallow, hollowed out from the lack of nutrients being provided. White skin was covered in bruises, swollen where fists had connected with flesh, swollen further where the skin split open, leaking puss and blood, some infected from the lack of care. She was smaller than he remembered her being originally, his eyes dropped down to the tray in his hand, moving the red orbs to connect with the brown of the guard standing in front of the cell, his gaze sharpened and narrowed.

"You have ten seconds." he murmured, his voice cold, devoid of any emotion. The guard seemed nervous but considered standing his ground before backing off, turning and unlocking the cell door, holding out the keys to the shackles clamped around the woman's arms and legs. Itachi Uchiha took the key and jutted his chin towards the exit, the guard turned and scrambled out of the dungeon, most likely to report that the Uchiha was down there. Itachi turned his gaze to small woman and stepped into the cell, his nose scrunching slightly at the smell, embarrassment flashed through her eyes, he would have to get her out of here.

Setting down the tray on the floor in front of her, he unlocked the shackles on her wrists, allowing her to sit and freely eat. Moving to a bench a few feet away, he sat down, one leg raising and crossing over the other, his arms crossing over his chest as he waited for the woman to eat, eyes closed, body relaxed.

"I will get you out of here." he murmured, he could feel Pein approaching, the anger flowing off of him making Itachi annoyed, what he did with his prisoner was Itachi's choice.

"Why?" her voice was small, his black eyes opened and found her sitting there, pulling a piece of bread into pieces, those striking orbs watching him, her emotions clear in them, no matter how schooled she kept her features.

"Because I took you for myself, not for them to do this." he stated and stood up. He stepped out and locked the door again, just as the orange haired Akatsuki leader stepped in, face impassive, hard eyes watching Itachi with annoyance.

"Itachi. This is the third time this month you came down here."


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